Failure

So… the rescue/bail-out bill failed in the House, 205-228.  From Forbes magazine:

WASHINGTON, D.C. -

In a suspenseful vote of 205-228, the House of Representatives squashed a bill granting the Treasury $700 billion to shore up the U.S. financial system. Clearing the House was seen as the bill's biggest hurdle, and now the proposed bailout is thrown into disarray.

The bill had majority support from House Democrats, at around 140-95. It was killed by staunch opposition from House Republicans, 65-133. The voting was left open for several minutes, while congressional leaders tried to get members to change nay votes, and the tallies shifted slightly but not enough to pass.

On Wall Street, market response was swift and terrible. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had been trending down throughout the morning, plunged almost 7% in minutes before recovering somewhat. Prices for Treasury bonds soared into the stratosphere, pushing the yields down. The three-month Treasury yield sank to 0.68%, while the London interbank offer rate rose to 3.88%.

Just for the record:  the Dow lost 777.68 (closing at 10,365.45), the NASDAQ 199.61 (1983.73 at the close) and the S&P Index -106.85 (1106.42).  Tomorrow will most certainly be an interesting day in the markets, indeed.

Developing, as Drudge sez.